The Astrology of Prince

Anyone who knows me knows what a massive Prince fan I am. I’ve been meaning to write something about his chart but felt too overwhelmed shortly after his passing. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a year since he left us. This post was inspired by a series of dreams I had about him. I intuitively pulled a few tarot cards as well…

 I – 8 of Pentacles Reversed

Prince Rogers Nelson: Gemini Sun/Pisces Moon

The very first card (8 of Pentacles) is usually a warning about unethical business associates and shady deals in general, but mainly about over-extending one’s self. In the reverse position this card is associated with workaholic tendencies and neglecting one’s health. Saturn’s Rx phase during the time of his death could have been warning him to slow down. There have been numerous conspiracy theories surrounding Prince’s death and with Neptune tightly conjunct the Midheaven of his death chart, his passing is shrouded in mystery (Neptune) but I don’t want to talk about conspiracy theories. I’d much rather discuss how fascinating his chart is. It’s filled with so much creativity, beauty and sensitivity.

Prince was highly intuitive (Moon in Pisces at 1 degree 59 minutes trine his Neptune/Psyche conjunction in Scorpio in the 12th house). This gift of insight and premonition was more than likely inherited from his female ancestors (Moon in the 4th) someone this “plugged in” would know if his time were coming to an end. His Gemini Sun (life force) sits in the 8th house (death) conjunct the Vertex (fated events). Transiting Saturn Rx in Sagittarius was approaching a return to its natal position at the time of his death. The Rx aspect could indicate something burdensome returning (Sagittarius rules the hips/legs)  His health/sickness house ruler, Mars, powerfully placed in its ruling sign, Aries, makes a stressful aspect to Saturn natally so his pending Saturn return, in addition to transiting Uranus in his health house, put Prince under a lot of stress physically. Uranus transits, at least health-wise, are indicative of burn out and anxiety. His body was literally screaming for a break.

Natal Saturn in Sagittarius at 22 degrees 52 minutes was Rx and in his 2nd house opposite his Sun (ego/life force) in his natal chart as well and this is the classic workaholic aspect. The 2nd house is tied into self-worth what we value and finances. Prince more than likely felt like he had something to prove throughout his entire life and this is linked to his father (Saturn). In mythology Saturn/Kronos had fears his children would overthrow him and his solution was to eat/consume them. The opposition aspect is often projection, and Prince’s father could have very well projected a lot of his fears/criticism and expectations onto Prince. Depression, perfectionism (which can also trigger depression) and heavy responsibilities (In Prince’s case there is a “debt” to the father) are also associated with Saturn astrologically. For some parents parenthood is often ego-driven. Children become funnels and parents often live vicariously through them.

Saturn’s pending return to its natal placement may have triggered issues pertaining to his self-worth (2nd house) and proving himself, yet again. As someone who was strongly focused on aesthetics/Beauty (Venus in Taurus) I wonder how he felt about aging and getting older. With transiting Saturn opposing his career house ruler (Sun) there may have also been feelings of frustration pertaining to his career. Saturn can create inertia. This must have been especially frustrating for someone like Prince who was quite prolific and full of energy. The slowing down of his physical body must have been pure hell for him.

8 of  Pentacles

Saturn, with its penchant for authority, would cause Prince to view men (Sun) as competition in general. He preferred the company of women (Moon/Neptune trine) and felt more comfortable with them. His Mars exalted in Aries makes him competitive by nature. For Prince there was only room for one rooster in the hen-house! He merged the softness of his Pisces Moon with the raw sexuality of his Mars in Aries perfectly. The 8 of Pentacles is a master at his craft. In the image we see a man hammering away at his creations/pentacles. These pentacles (also called, “Coins,” and “Disk’s”) for me symbolize Prince’s music/albums and his creative process. He was extremely prolific and has the astrological chart of someone who has had to work very hard for most of his life and didn’t expect anyone to help him; it would also make it difficult for Prince to ask for help if he needed it.

At the time of his passing transiting Saturn at 14 degrees was also tightly conjunct his financial house cusp and he may have been forced to scale back financially and live with less. Of course the term, “Less,” often has a different meaning for the rich and famous.

But let’s get back to the messages contained in the tarot cards.

II – Judgement – Reversed

Judgement Reversed

The second card (Judgement Reversed) speaks of stasis and isolation and this was probably one of the worse things Prince could have done—cutting himself off from people. could be his Jehovah Witness faith. Prince has always interwoven spiritual/religious/mystical themes into his music (His Pisces Moon is quite spiritually ambitious) and that was never an issue for me. While I am not religious (I was not raised with organized religion) I do believe in a higher spiritual power. Prince’s uninhibited (Venus/Uranus square in his chart) merging of god/sex was one of the key themes that I loved about him and at first found his gravitation to the JW faith quite odd. Eastern/esoteric philosophies with its focus on reincarnation, (another theme Prince explored numerous times in his music) and sex as a tantric expression (“Lovesexy”) seemed more in line with who he was. I’m a firm believer that the JW faith caused him some internal conflict and disconnected him from the essence of who he was and this led to crisis (transiting Pluto square his natal Sun) There could have been fears of judgement as well.

This reminds me of another reading I did for Prince in 2013/2014. I began to sense a spiritual shift in Prince and pulled The Hierophant card in the reversed position. The Hierophant is often depicted as a priest/religious figure and is associated with tradition. With this card in the reversed position Prince may have been moving away from traditional religious practices. With his Mercury in its ruling sign Gemini, at 4 degrees 6 minutes conjunct the asteroids Hypnos/Vesta (dedication to service and obsessive focus) and square Pluto, Prince had a deep probing mind that was restless and constantly searching for knowledge. A stimulating environment was a must for a man like him. He also got bored quickly (Uranus in the 9th) and like a nomad, was always searching for something else. When I saw that he named his group, “Third Eye Girl,” I was intrigued. It was around this time that I began to realize that Prince was more than likely distancing himself from traditional (Hierophant) religious doctrine and exploring more esoteric themes, while maintaining his deeply rooted Christian beliefs.

Prince has the chart of a, to quote Bob Marley, “Natural Mystic” (Moon in Pisces) and healer of the collective (Chiron in Aquarius). He is naturally in tune with Christ consciousness, but his Moon/Neptune aspect can create a sort of religious/spiritual naiveté and makes him an emotional/psychic sponge that is susceptible to deception (Neptune 2 degrees 20 minutes in Scorpio in the 12th house of  hidden agendas).

There have been numerous amusing statements about how bewitching Prince is (his eyes especially) and even YouTube videos accusing Prince of everything from sex magic to witchcraft! The fixed star Enif, located in the nose of the constellation, Pegasus, is conjunct Prince’s Moon and is associated with intuition, as well as the Part of Spirit and the fixed star, Sadalmelik, a star associated with occult knowledge. I think his Pluto tightly conjunct the Midheaven/10th elicits this kind of powerful (Pluto) reaction from the public (10th)

III – Queen of Pentacles – A nurturing woman/Archetypal Mother

Was Prince looking for a woman who exhibited some of the same personality traits as the Queen of Pentacles? It’s hard to say. Women have always played a major role in Prince’s life: creatively, romantically, and spiritually. The “dark” Goddess, Black Moon Lilith in Aries, sits in his creative 5th house

Prince’s Ceres (mother to Persephone) in Leo sits in the 9th house of higher education conjunct Uranus. (his mother earned her masters degree and became a social worker) His mother may have been more concerned with her own goals/development and there is an erratic (Uranus) element to his nurturing (Ceres). Despite this Ceres/Uranus speaks of a mother that is vibrant and unconventional. Prince said in early interviews that he got his wild side from his mother.

Queen of Pentacles

This may have caused young Prince to be more self-reliant than the average child his age. His Moon forms an out-of-sign conjunction to Chiron, the wounded healer. Moon/Chiron aspects, in particular the stressful aspects, often point to emotional and maternal wounds linked to a lack of nurturing. Prince left his childhood home as a young man and bounced around quite a bit.Interestingly enough, in mythology, Chiron was abandoned by his mother (the nymph, Philyra). While Chiron can be associated with psychic wounds he is also a symbol of the emergence of hidden gifts. In Prince’s case Chiron’s opposition to Pluto/Midheaven/Regulus gave him the unwavering drive to succeed. With Chiron’s trine to Jupiter (11th) and his Amor in Gemini (7th) healing/nurturing was more than likely obtained through connections to friends, like-minded individuals (11th), and lovers (7th); not necessarily blood relatives.

His ties to women (and his female ancestors) are extremely compelling with the Moon in the 4th house, and his cultural roots are strong as well (his emotional desire for roots is pronounced as well) the 4th house is ones physical home (our ancestors) and childhood. This explains him never abandoning Minneapolis and choosing to stay close to home. But there are a lot of emotional wounds as well (Chiron conjunct Moon) His Moon/Pluto aspect triggered feelings towards his mother that were probably extremely complex, consuming, and overwhelming. Luckily for his mother, Prince was extremely compassionate and forgiving when it came to her (Moon trine Neptune) and he adored her and she adored him (his mother was a Scorpio) It’s weird, looking at his chart I can see she’s deeply imbedded in his subconscious, yet it’s like she’s a myth (Neptune) I wonder what she was going through while pregnant with Prince. Babies absorb this energy (it’s called the Pre-Natal Moon) and the 12th house is pretty much the holding cell for this kind of energy as well as past-life memories.

III/I – Women (Moon) as catalysts for change

His Eros (symbol of passion and desire) is in Pisces as well at 19 degrees giving credence to the numerous stories about Prince doing nothing more than bathing women or simply brushing their hair. Eros is much more than erotic and sexual fixation: it serves as a funnel of sorts (creativity is passion as well) and in the natal chart it gives clues into where our passions thrive. His Eros in mystical Pisces may very much have been content with just appreciating women, and being in their presence more than likely provided all of the passion he needed. The Mystic (Pisces) and the erotic (Eros) are fused, and of course we see these two energies in almost everything he did, especially in his lyrics and imagery.

His Moon (women/emotional drive), trines Neptune and sextiles his Venus at 7 degrees 50 minutes in its ruling sign, Taurus (ruler of his 7th house) in his 6th house. He was certainly a man who loved beauty (Venus) and linked it to the divine (Neptune) and was a hopeless romantic, yet Venus/Neptune aspects can also produce unrealistic expectations and a lack of boundaries, especially when it came to love. This can lead to disappointment and unwillingness to commit. Often the idea of love is more appealing than the actual relationship itself. He needed someone he could merge with (he could also tap into women empathically) and we see this need projected onto his numerous female protégées. Prince’s lovers and muses are more than musical projects, they were extensions of himself and his sensitive Moon more than likely loved to save women (his Venus sits in the house of service). No one loves a victim, or a perceived victim, like Pisces. Venus in his service house is more than likely the reason he would often get involved with women her worked with. The 6thhouse, like the 10th, is also a house associated with career.

While his Moon in Pisces is quite caring and sensitive, it squares his Pluto-Midheaven conjunction and the fixed star, Regulus, at the critical 29th degree. Prince had the power (Pluto) and ability to extract your secrets while simultaneously maintaining his. Often stressful Moon/Pluto aspects can unleash manipulation and power plays, especially if one feels threatened or feels as though their own power is being taken from them. So while Prince offered assistance to women, there is an underlying manipulative aspect to his giving! Most of this is due to fears of relinquishing personal power and being abandoned (Moon conjunct Chiron) Like his ascendant ruler, Pluto/Hades, Prince offers his Persephone a very tempting pomegranate, one that is virtually impossible to resist.

The key issue for Prince in terms of his love life is linked to a powerful T-square that consists of Neptune, Venus and Uranus at the apex. Venus opposes Neptune, squares Uranus, and trines Pluto! So here we have someone who becomes enamored quite quickly (Venus/Neptune) becomes almost obsessive in his affections (Venus/Pluto) only to lose interest (Venus/Uranus) when someone more interesting comes along. Newness is something that Prince loved and this is classic Uranus behavior.

His Moon/Pluto square also gives him an emotional upper hand in his relationships. He was the kind of man who had a powerful (Pluto) influence on others, especially women (Moon). Prince’s drives and desires were often hidden at first glance, especially when it came to love and romantic partners. His relationship house is governed by sensual Taurus and its ruler, Venus, also rules the ever so secretive 12th house. He was not one to kiss and tell and whatever he shared with the woman he was with stayed hidden from others. To say he was private is truly an understatement. It’s actually quite refreshing; especially in this age of social media where a tremendous amount of over sharing takes place.

IV – Death/Power as a vehicle to transformation (8th House Sun)

His Gemini Sun at 16 degrees 41 minutes is the consummate symbol of duplicity and the integration of oppositions. It’s placement in the sexually charged 8th house, which is also associated with death, regeneration and transformation. We see these themes explored in his “7” video where Prince lures different versions of himself into an elevator/capsule and “kills” them off. This is a theme (death) that we see repeatedly, especially with his name change to an unpronounceable symbol and his mantra at the time, “Prince is dead.” During this particular period transiting Pluto (God of the underworld) was on Prince’s Scorpio ascendant ushering in a profound sense of transformation and re-birth. Pluto creates, destroys and then re-creates. This is certainly what Prince was experiencing, and anyone who has felt the forces of a transit from Pluto to the sensitive points in their natal chart (1st, 4th, 7th and 10th houses) know all too well the almost cataclysmic energy that permeates.

His Pluto on the Midheaven would have Prince at odds with authority and often this was played out publicly (his battle with Warner Bros. in the 90’s) The 10th house is more than one’s vocation; it symbolizes the world at large and how we navigate within it. While he was deeply private (Scorpio rising) Leo rules his career house, conjunct the royal star Regulus no less! Here we have a private figure (Scorpio) with a very public (Leo) profession. For Leo the world is a stage and Prince controlled (Pluto) how his image/public life was portrayed, and rightfully so.

At the time of his death transiting Jupiter was square his natal Sun in his house of death (8th house) his transition was smooth and Jupiter/Sun is very much a release. He’s resting easy now. The New Moon in Scorpio was in his 12th house. Death is merely a beginning.

Travel safely, Prince.